David Cumes Surgeon/Sangoma (Zulu for Shaman)

THE KARMIC IMPLICATIONS OF JOY

The Ancestors

The Creator does not endorse abstention as a path to spiritual perfection. Furthermore self-flagellation or self-mutilation in any religiously inspired forms are antithetical to Self-realization which must begin with self-worth. We are made in the image of the Divine and we are not intended to beat ourselves up along the way. Scripture also teaches that
self-condemnation is one of the biggest impediments on the path to enlightenment.

We are here to enjoy life responsibly. A sentient body is a gift to savor - we lose it when we leave the planet and go to the other side. The tension between enjoying the more challenging sentient pleasures such sex as love and not lust is one of our tests on the difficult road to spiritual transformation.

The Ancestors

Joy, gratitude and love are all interconnected and interdependent and gratitude is the ultimate form of prayer. Bhakti or devotional yoga embraces the joy of immersing in the mysticism of Divine love. It is expressed in the works of the Sufi poets like Rumi and Hafiz where they express their love for the Creator in words of ecstatic joy. David's psalms are similar. This religious fervor expressed as joy is affirmed by de Chardin

The Ancestors tell us that

the route to God is through the senses

and being able to experience the joys of creation through a sentient body. They offer sensory, "active" meditation as an alternative to the Eastern forms of passive meditation. There are eight limbs in Yoga philosophy. The Asana limb of yoga is a form of sensory, active meditation, now so popular in the West. Walking in silence on the beach when there is a gorgeous sunset is another. Africans say

we pray by singing and dancing.

and the Talmud adds that

with song one can open the gates of heaven.